Puerto Rico Open (Saturday/Sunday) - Tampa Monday Qualifier

It has been a wild few days with a lot of golf and very little sleep. Saturday's round was met with very little wind and scores were low. Kevin struggled hitting fairways (4/14) but was able to hit 16 greens for the day and shot three under (69). Starting the day in a tie for 33rd, his 69 dropped one spot to a tie for 34th at the end of the day.

On Sunday, Kevin drove the ball much better and continued hitting a lot of greens (16/18) but struggled with the putter. His speed was a little off and we had 18 straight two putts (36 putts total) for a final round 73. His six under total backed us up to a tie for 49th. Needing a top 10 finish to get into the field for the Valspar Championship, we were now heading to Tampa to play the Monday qualifier.

Soon after checking in at the airport, we found out that our 8:15pm flight was delayed three hours and not leaving until 11:15. We finally arrived in Tampa at 2:30am, got our bags, picked up the car and drove the hour north toward the Monday qualifier. We finally checked into the hotel at 4am and set the alarm for 7:20 for our 9:00am tee time. After three hours sleep and some help from a Five Hour Energy drink, Kevin played great. Never seeing the golf course before, we managed our way around without a bogey and shot a six under par round 66. With only four spots available, we were tied for first with one other guy after the morning wave. We had some lunch and then had to wait about six hours for the afternoon wave to finish. No one else was able to match our score and we qualified without a playoff. Finally leaving the course about 7pm and heading back toward Tampa for the Valspar Championship we stopped for a quick dinner and then some much needed rest.

Puerto Rico Open - Thursday and Friday

Well, it's nice to finally get into a tournament. After being on the alternate list the last few weeks, we come to Puerto Rico knowing we are in the field. I arrived Monday and Kevin flew in Tuesday morning. We played a practice round Tuesday afternoon and then filled in for nine holes during Wednesday's pro-am.

Kevin has played solid over the first two days. The wind is blowing about 20mph every day which makes it difficult at times but he is hitting it solid which makes it easier to manage. On Thursday, we had a little trouble in the middle of the first nine and we were over par early. We made a double after his shot from a fairway bunker hit the lip and barely made it out and a missed up and down led to the other bogey. But he hung in there and birdied all the par fives the rest of the way and shot one under (71) for the day.

The only blemishes on Fridays card came from two three putts. A missed short putt on the fourth and then another on the 11th after a poor first putt. But once again, he kept fighting and birdied three of the last four to shoot three under (69). His four under total puts us t-33rd heading into the weekend. With 80 guys making the cut, the Tour decided to split the field, pair us into threesomes and tee off both nines. We tee off today at 9:45 on number 10

AT&T Pebble Beach / Northern Trust Open Summary

Since I haven't posted in a while, here is a summary of the last few weeks. After missing the cut at Torrey Pines (San Diego), we did not get into the field for the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale, AZ. I flew home but Kevin decided to stay out west and spent the week practicing in Palm Springs, CA. It turned out to be a great decision since the weather back home was miserable and he would not have been able to get much practice in if he did came home.

I flew back out to California on Sunday and met Kevin early Monday morning at Pebble Beach. The ATT Pro-am was played on three courses (Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach) so we needed to get a practice round in on each before Thursday. The weather was perfect Monday through Wednesday but turned nasty by the time the tournament started. Rain, wind and cold were the words that described the rest of the week. Thursday's round was at Spyglass and we were able to get around in at par (72) even though we didn't hit it well early in the round. Fridays round was at Monterey and it was the best ball striking round of the week. Kevin got it to four under through eight holes and then we held on for dear life as we made the turn back into the wind to finish the day. The wind was so strong that solid drives were only going 225 yards and 3 irons were going 170 yards. His two under (70) was one of the best rounds for the day.

Saturday's round was on Pebble and the winds were up again. With the exception of the opening drive on ten that found the ocean, Kevin played solid in the tough conditions. Play was suspended for a few hours because the wind was so strong, as it was blowing balls on the greens. After opening with a double bogey, we finished the day with a three over par (75). His one over total put us in a tie for 64th but because 25 amateurs also make the cut and play on Sunday, the "playing" cut for the professionals this week was the top 60 and ties. So, even though Kevin earns FedEx points and money for his 64th place, it left us one shot out of making the "playing cut" for Sunday and we did not have the opportunity to improve our position. Then, making it sting a little more, Kevin and his amateur partner shot 18 under par and made the team cut so we had to play on Sunday anyway as a team.

Because of the late finish on Sunday, Kevin was not able to catch his flight to LA, so he made the five hour drive with me to LA. On the drive to LA, we found out that because there were three guys that finished in the top 10 at Pebble, we were now third alternate for the Northern Trust Open. On Monday, we went out to Riviera and played in the Monday pro-am as our practice round. Kevin was not feeling well so he took Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday off. Tuesday morning we moved up to second alternate so on Wednesday we had a nice afternoon practice session and got prepared just in case we got into the tournament. As it turned out, only one other player withdrew, leaving us the first man on the outside looking in.

After spending 7.5 hours at the golf course on Thursday waiting to see if everyone was going to play, we left the course and headed toward the airport. On the way, Kevin was able to get the last seat on a flight leaving at 2:45. Without any time to spare, we got him on the flight and he headed home. Unfortunately for me, due to the weather back home, I was not able to find a flight home until Saturday. We are off again next week and then the "Florida swing" starts in Palm Beach, FL at the Honda Classic. With the next reshuffle for our category coming after this week, we will once again be close to getting into the event. Kevin is projected to drop to 20th in his category and that will be very close to the number that will get into the Honda. He is planning on entering the Monday qualifier if we do not get into the field.

Farmers Insurance Open (La Jolla, CA) - Practice

The North and South courses at Torrey Pines are playing long and tough. Even with dry conditions over the weeks leading up to this event, the rough is extremely long. Narrow fairways, long rough and firm greens all equal tough conditions. On top of all of that...the bumpy poa annua greens will test patience. It's going to be a difficult test but we are ready for the challenge.

We played the North course on Monday in a charity pro-am and then had a practice round Tuesday on the South course. Kevin hit the ball well and drove it awesome during both rounds. The bumpy greens made it frustrating practicing each day but it is something we have to deal with. We knew this coming to these events on the west coast but it still makes it tough mentally. Today we had our normal practice Wednesday. After Kevin's morning workout, we hit some balls and then worked on our putting. We took a break for lunch and then spent some more time on the putting green before calling it a day. We tee off tomorrow on the South course (number 10) at 9:50 with Ed Loar and Michael Block. 

Here is a link to an interview I had on Tuesday. A retired caddy that has a blog stopped me Tuesday morning and asked for an interview. He posted it last night so you can take a listen if your interested.

http://lpgacaddy.com/2014-farmers/

Humana Challenge - La Quinta, CA

The results don't show it but it was a solid week in La Quinta. One of my favorite spots on Tour, the weather was perfect every day and we leave town with a 48 place finish and 19 FedEx Cup points.

Kevin had a solid ball striking week. He fought the driver at times but hit his irons well. He ranked 12th in greens in regulation for the week and gave himself numerous looks at birdie. With rounds of 66,70,69,69 (14under), the results would have been much better if we just had an average chipping and putting week. Kevin has worked hard during the off season on his chipping but the new technique has his feel / touch off. He is hitting his chips and pitches solid with the correct trajectories but his distance control is off. We'll need to continue with reps everyday and all of that will take care of itself.

After the tournament, it was a short drive over the mountain to San Diego, CA for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. After playing and learning three different courses last week, we now will be playing two courses (North and South) here at Torrey Pines. I am meeting Kevin later this morning as he is playing a charity pro-am on the North course at noon.

Sony Open Recap

It was a week where we did lots of good things but just made too many mistakes. After 36 holes, Kevin totaled 11 birdies but had nine bogeys and one double to go with it. His even par total (72-68) missed the cut by one shot. With seven weeks off from competition, the mistakes could be summed up by being a little "rusty". His touch around the greens was a little off and led to nine missed up and downs and two three putts over the two days. For the most part, his long game was solid considering we come to a golf course that he has struggled on in years past. Considering everything, we leave this week in a good frame of mind and feeling good about the weeks ahead.

With the weekend off and next week's tournament in Palm Springs being played on three different golf courses, we both looked at changing our flights and heading out early. Kevin was able to make the change and left Hawaii yesterday (Saturday) but I could not get out. I'm still on my original flight tonight and will not be able to get to Palm Springs until Monday afternoon. Fortunately for me, my nephew, David, is stationed in the Army here on Oahu and I've been able to spend some time with him over the last few days. I guess there are worse places then Hawaii to be "stuck".

The Start of 2014 - Sony Open (Waikiki Beach, HI)

It's time to start 2014 and it looks like it came just in time. As most of you have been experiencing sub freezing temperatures, we start the year off in Hawaii. Kevin and I both traveled on Sunday but my day was a little longer then expected. I started out early with a 6am flight out of Charlotte only to arrive in Houston to learn that my flight to Hawaii was cancelled. After a 12hr layover, I finally arrived in Honolulu at 1:30am making it a 27 hour travel day.

After a few hours of sleep, I met Kevin Monday morning to begin our preparation for the Sony Open. Kevin worked hard over the break and is in great shape coming to Hawaii. We have struggled the past two years we played here but Kevin had two great practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was a nice light practice session in the morning and he is ready to get started. Our tee time today is 1:10 with Ben Martin and Wil Wilcox.